Toshiba completes NuGen acquisition

26 July 2017

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Toshiba Corp is now the sole owner of NuGeneration (NuGen) after completing the acquisition of French utility Engie's 40% share in the UK nuclear power plant developer yesterday. The Japanese electronics conglomerate received notice from Engie on 4 April that it had exercised its right to require Toshiba to purchase all shares held by Engie in NuGen.

Toshiba owns Westinghouse Electric Company, whose Chapter 11 filing in late March met the definition of an 'event of default' under the terms of its NuGen shareholder agreement with Engie. Default entitles Engie to sell its entire shareholding in NuGen to Toshiba, or to acquire all the shares held by Toshiba.

Toshiba has a 60% stake in NuGen and owns 87% of USA-based Westinghouse, which on 29 March filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors to enable strategic restructuring amid "financial and construction challenges" in its US AP1000 power plant projects. Both Toshiba and Westinghouse stressed that only Westinghouse's US operations would be affected by the filing. NuGen plans to build three Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Moorside in West Cumbria, England.

Announcing completion of the acquisition of Engie's stake in NuGen today, Toshiba said the share purchase price is JPY15.862 billion (GBP108.8 million). It will bear the additional cost JPY3.6 billion, which includes UK certification – the Generic Design Assessment - of the AP1000 reactor design which Westinghouse received in March.

The financial impact of the transaction will be reported in Toshiba's accounts for the first quarter of its 2017 financial year. This is forecast to be a JPY3.6 billion decrease in the profit and loss statement, the company said.

Toshiba has already made a provision of about JPY45.1 billion in its revised full-year financial for FY2016 for impairment of goodwill and fixed assets at NuGen.

Toshiba said it will continue to look for investors interested in investing in NuGen, and to consider the sale of its holding in the company.